THE LAKEWOOD KEY for June 11, 2021


It was two weeks ago when acclaimed bulletin writer Paula Olson noted that “words matter”. I’d like to take that one step further: letters matter, too. For instance, President Mark Edgecomb, he of short-timer status, wrote on today’s agenda that the bulletin writer this week is Greg Rediski. Not only did he then send me this agenda with that spelling, but he frequently mentions how we are cousins. I would think a person would know how to spell their cousin’s name! A name that your late aunt and uncle shared! I guess I should just be content that he pronounces it correctly, unlike, say, Bob Zawilski (Zawalski) or poor Carl Bronkema (too many different pronunciations to mention here).
(That aside, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out what a wonderful job Mark has done during this challenging year. Between the bathtub meeting and his frequent fines of himself, he has done it all. And we at the bulletin staff will be especially sorry to see him depart, as ridiculing him for the sake of good humor has been like shooting fish in a barrel. (Which means, “not very hard”, for any Swedish readers who might be out there.))

Here we are, two paragraphs in, and not a word about this week’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Lakewood. This bulletin writing crew will not be held to commonly accepted rules of how to present the events of a Rotary meeting! We will follow our own path, which in this case begins now with the realization early on that Mark wasn’t there, replaced by the familiar face of Mr. Potter, specifically Bill Potter. Bill is in the waning days of his term as Past President. But did you know that except for the 2010-11 year, Bill has served on the Board of Directors of this club since 2008! Ten CONSECUTIVE years! And now he is going out in a blaze of glory, virtually hosting one more Rotary meeting.



Above: Past President Potter has not lost his touch

Or is that hosting virtually….at any rate, here is what happened:
--Guests included Charlie Hancock, Shiro Osundwa, and unnamed dogs of Chris Kimball, Peter Marsh and Greg Horn.

Puffins in the House: Tom George, Carole Wier, Carl Bronkema, James Osundwa, Wendy McGowan.
--Sunshine: Donn Irwin is still in the ICU from his heart surgery, but improving nicely.
--Andrew Kruse’s Invocation/Thought revolved around a quote that said we shouldn’t hide our wounds but use them in service to others.
--Flag salute by Acting President Bill. This is probably where I could note that Bill screwed up the order of the agenda big time, but I won’t because he has already endured his year of presidential abuse.
Announcements: Pay Attention!
--Installation Banquet, not to be missed. Friday, June 25, 5:00 (6:45 dinner). Surf & Turf, $60. No mask required if you are vaccinated, at the Country Club. Check to our PO Box 99786, or credit card online (lakewoodrotary.com; go to Get Involved, then Make A Payment).
--Lunch Pricing: Jim Rooks, John Lowney and Mark Edgecomb engaged in high level negotiations with the Country Club about lunch pricing. After deciding that we love them and they love us, the new lunch pricing after 6 years of no increase is $22 ($10 for cookie and coffee). It should be noted that this includes 18% gratuity. The next Board meeting will be on July 14, 5:30 at the Club. The first back-to-the-club Friday meeting will be August 27.

--Reeder Roadster Romp, aka Rotary Roadster Romp (RRR): August 1-3. On to Astoria and points south! See Phil Eng ASAP.





Above: Some “roadsters” back in the day


Above: Beautiful Rides

--RI International Convention starts now: June 12-16. $65 registration, Rotary.org.
--Little Free Pantry: 5 are up and running. If you have one near you, consider being a regular or semi-regular stocker of the pantry. Popular items: pull-top canned items, baby food, personal hygiene.
--Vaccination: Peter Marsh has been named to a board promoting COVID vaccines. He used the Four Way Test as his guide: Vaccinate for your self; Vaccinate for your family; Vaccinate for your friends; Vaccinate for your community.

--Auction: Wow!!!!! Eric Quinn announced preliminary numbers, a net of nearly $70K. Amazing. Sainthood awaits those on the committee who worked so tirelessly. And kudos also to all the Lakewood Rotarians and guests who were oh-so-generous.

Educator of the Month:
Leanna Albrecht introduced two administrators from the Clover Park School District, Meghan Meakin and Rainier Principal Kylie Danielson. The Educator of the Month is Christina Villena, a 12-year veteran of the CPSD. Leanna’s audio was tough for these damaged ears, so I didn’t hear a lot, but what I heard was: “Great teacher!” And this is a great program of Lakewood Rotary, to honor our best teachers.

Birthdays and Anniversaries:
Sam Hunter won the contest for most years in the Club, 37. Duncan and Joan Cook won the award for most years married (to each other, by the way): 65! And of the plentiful June birthdays, only five were in the house: Andrew Kruse (favorite song: Don’t Stop Believin’), Leanna Albrecht (favorite song: What a Feeling (maybe that was it….). Eric Warn and Don Daniels didn’t pipe up, and Chris Kimball ignored the rules of his own contest.

Program:
Leanna Christian introduced Rachel Vaughn, Executive Director of the UW Tacoma’s Milgard School of Business in the Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility. Rachel took us through the online offerings from the school, including some videos free for the looking (https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/uwt/business/clsr). She highlighted their mentoring program, one-on-one between graduate students and community leaders. Particularly emphasized was the Milgard Women’s Initiative, dedicated to advancing women as creative and innovative leaders in their communities. One of the questions from our group was about “imposter syndrome”. Rachel explained that many of their students are the first in their family to attend college, and they often feel like they don’t really belong. The school recognizes this and addresses these emotions. To wrap up her presentation, Rachel praised Leanna Christian with this comment: “How does she get it all done? She is amazing.” Tell us something we don’t already know. Leanna rocks. Thanks, all!

A Good Story:
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of…..service above self, and how this very motto works in business and life in general. Barlow Buescher and Karen were hosting several couples for the auction night last week. One of those invitees saw the $500 gift certificate at Ed Selden Carpet One, and immediately bid…..$825, the Buy It Now price. Why, you ask? Some time before, this guest of Barlow’s had purchased and had installed some carpeting from Rick and Gayle’s place. But somehow, the wrong item number was entered or given, and the wrong carpet was installed. Distraught, she went into the store and complained to Rick. Rick immediately assured her that it would be taken care of to her satisfaction, not to worry. It’s what good business people do, and it’s what good people do. This customer was so very impressed with Rick’s response, she felt compelled to show her appreciation by bidding $325 OVER the value of the gift certificate. And that, my fellow Rotarians, is another reason why the Selden family was named this year’s recipient of the Larry Saunders Community Service Award. Leo Durocher was wrong: Nice guys finish first!

At a recent Swedish soccer game, the beautiful blonde cheerleaders yelled out: “Gimme an ‘F’! Gimme an ‘I’! Gimme a ‘G’! Gimme an ‘H’! Gimme a ‘T’! Now what’s that spell????”
And all they got back was heavy “thinking” and total silence…..


NEXT WEEK
Marc Blau, President of the Shanaman (Tacoma) Sports Museum
Marc is also co-author of PLAYGROUND TO THE PROS, an encyclopedic book on the history of sports in Pierce County and nearby. Lakewood Rotary is tied to that history by a number of our past members. The book contains references and pictures of these past Lakewood Rotarians:
Cap Peterson, Ron Herbel, Rudy Tollefson, Jim Rediske, Harry Mansfield, Tom Names, Jim McGranahan, Randy Peterson and many more Lakewood legends.

And lastly, as this keyboard seems intent on going on forever: a new and improved sign indicating one of Lakewood Rotary’s first projects (building the first two baseball fields at Ft. Steilacoom about 1974) is ready to go up. Here’s a picture sent by Mary Dodsworth, along with her promise that it is going up “very soon!”. (No Rotary emblem, but that seems to be how we roll, do the work and forget about the credit!!)



Above: The sign!